Comstock's Bridge
Middlesex County, East Hampton. Built 1840, rebuilt 1873 and 2011, 95 ft. long. A Howe truss bridge linking East Hampton and Colchester across the Salmon River.
Comstock's Bridge traces its origins to 1785, when residents south of the Salmon River in what was then called Chatham found it a genuine hardship to reach church services and conduct business with neighbors on the far bank. That first crossing was a simple uncovered bridge; it was substantially upgraded in 1840 to handle heavier traffic, and in 1873 the town invested in a proper Howe truss and roof, giving the bridge the covered form it's kept ever since. It takes its name from Franklin G. Comstock, East Hampton's first postmaster.
The bridge crosses the Salmon River at the boundary between East Hampton and Colchester, historically one of the more significant road connections in the area, and it's flanked by a smaller adjacent pony queen-truss bridge spanning a side channel. Comstock's is owned by the State of Connecticut and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it underwent a full rebuild in 2011 to keep the historic Howe truss structurally sound. It's one of only three genuinely historic covered bridges left in the state — the others being Bull's Bridge and West Cornwall — though unlike those two, Comstock's no longer carries vehicle traffic.
